Abstract
This study focuses on the efficient spread of nutrients for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), which in turn controls the growth rates of bacteria. By using a two-dimensional packed-bed with glass-beads, flooding and huff&puff experiments with and without a shut-in process were carried out in order to examine distribution of nutrients. KCl solution was applied to replicate nutrients. The experimental results by the solution injections into the horizontal bed or the vertical one, showed good agreements with the calculations of the two-dimensional mathematical model considering the convection, the mixing diffusion and the buoyancy force due to differences of the solution concentration. Effects of the shut-in period on distribution of nutrients were also investigated by using the mathematical model. The results displayed that the transport of the nutrient and its distribution depended clearly on the starting time of shut-in and the injection concentration of the nutrient.
